John Arts - Natural health researcher John Arts is a natural health researcher and supplement formulator. If you have questions or would like a free health plan you can contact John on 0800 423 559 or join his newsletter at www.johnarts.co.nz.

It was once thought that blocked arteries were caused by eating cholesterol-rich, saturated fats, such as butter. The fat was supposed to have somehow stuck to heart arteries causing blockages and restricting blood flow. This "fat in the pipe" theory has been largely discredited to the point where there is almost no evidence at all linking saturated fat intake to heart disease.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Jan 2010) published a study that looked at 21 major coronary heart disease trials involving nearly 350,000 people over decades. It specifically looked at the relationship between saturated fats and CHD (Coronary Heart Disease). The authors concluded, "Intake of saturated fat was not associated with an increased risk of CHD, stroke, or CVD."
The direct link between cholesterol and heart disease is also coming under serious scrutiny by many cardiac researchers. The cholesterol theory of heart disease is closely linked to the "fat" theory and states that if there is too much cholesterol in your blood, this can get stuck to the walls of your arteries blocking blood flow. We now know that this is just not the case. Cholesterol is involved but more at a secondary level.
Small cholesterol particles can easily get trapped within the walls of our coronary arteries. If there are insufficient antioxidants to protect the trapped cholesterol, like any fat, it quickly oxidises. Once it has oxidised, white blood cells attack the oxidised cholesterol. This process starts a major inflammatory response that is responsible for oxidised cholesterol changing into fatty foam cells which migrate through the artery wall to form as plaque. CAD is a disease caused by oxidation and subsequent inflammation and not directly by cholesterol and is not influenced by saturated fats. Actually the real culprits are low antioxidant levels and the highly inflammatory fats so prevalent in our diet. These inflammatory fats are mostly low grade polyunsaturated vegetable oils especially man altered fats.
Next week we will look at steps to prevent CAD, but briefly these involve eating anti-inflammatory fats, increasing intake of dietary antioxidants and supplementing with the nutrients that can boost our important defences against blocked arteries. If you are concerned about heart disease, feel free to call me for a personalised Heart Health Plan involving diet and targeted supplements.

John Arts is a natural health commentator and researcher. If you would like a copy of the Heart Health Guide you can email john@johnarts.co.nz or phone 07 578 9051 or 0800 423 559. You can join his newsletter at www.johnarts.co.nz